


Finding Your Roots

by GideonFluff



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Cultural Differences, Five Year Mission Gone Different, Genetically Engineered Beings, Religion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-03-12
Packaged: 2018-01-15 10:27:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1301551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GideonFluff/pseuds/GideonFluff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>~It always seemed a bit out of character for me that the Star Fleet would just keep people who are able to survive outside being frozen without even trying to re-integrate them back into society. </p><p>So what if after extensive psychological tests, Khan and his crew would be assigned to different Federation ships once seen fit for duty as a rehabilitation effort? Naturally they would be under close supervision.</p><p>Naturally Khan is a bit irked to be forced to serve under somebody. But he can respect Kirk as a strong-willed leader, at least. Even if he was inferior.~</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> ~This is the Introduction and sort of a writing test the next chapters will be longer. Relationships may happen as the story evolves. I don't want to force any that I'm not inspired to write. If you do have suggestions, I may include them if they fit into the plot.~

_"Khan Noonien Singh. Are you ready to serve on the USS Enterprise for you rehabilitation sentence?"_  
  
Finally this was the end of his official hearing. Sure, he did not look forward to being under another inferior human's command, but it was better than being turned back into a superior but still very icy popsicle. So he raised from his chair, smirking in amusement when some people in the audience of the hearing flinched and spoke up.  
  
"I am ready to serve with all power that was given to me."  
  
The Federation official taking in his oath looked a bit suspicious but finally nodded and continued.  
  
 _"And do you swear to obey the command of your captain and protect him and the rest of the crew?"_  
  
This didn't glide as smoothly over his tongue as the other admission but he willed himself to do it. His low rumbling voice echoed through the large room as he talked.  
  
"I swear to obey my captain's command and protect both him and the crew."  
  
God he was getting tired of those long boring procedures. When he had been ruler of his Empire, they hadn't needed any oaths like this because people simply knew to be loyal or get punished otherwise. Glancing to the side, he noted that Kirk and his main entourage were watching with neutral expressions. The only one not looking like he had bitten into a sour apple was the chief medical officer. He probably talked Kirk into applying to take Khan onto the Enterprise to study him further. or maybe use his blood anytime their captain managed to get himself badly injured again.  
  
Finally he was released from the hearing and collected his Kirpan. While he was not allowed to wear a Turban while serving the Star Fleet and his appearance had been altered away from his original genetic heritage during his creation process, he was still a Sikh and had been raised as such. At least they allowed him to grow his hair after his request and to wear a kara, not made of bronze or iron like it should be, but rather of duranium. At least a little bit of comfort and a reminder of the olden times. And of his own crew that was now scattered among a multitude of Federation ships.  
  
At least they were unfrozen and not being threatened... Even if he would much rather see them at his side.  
  
 _"You have been granted the rank of Lieutenant. Whether or not you will keep that rank or raise to higher ranks, depends on your deeds."_  
  
After those last words of admission, he was joined by the Enterprise Bridge Crew who hesitantly greeted him, obviously still resenting him for what he had done before. It was just natural.   
  
"Welcome to my crew, Lieutenant Singh. Your quarters are currently being sorted in and you still have twelve hours until our departure to transport personal belongings there if they pass the security check. Your bridge duty will start at Stardate -63213.013698630224." After that Kirk turned round on his heels and marched out, leaving his bridge crew looking rather confused and silent. Until McCoy spoke up that it.  
  
"What pinched his knickers? We had a bad start off but hell that was colder than our pointy-eared Elf-lookalike over there. Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer. Welcome aboard. We'll get along as long as you don't do reckless things and try to keep the captain out of trouble."  
  
Khan looked at the rough work-ridden hand extended to him and shook it firmly, careful not to apply more pressure than a normal human could take. "I believe that can be arranged Dr. McCoy." After Bones had decided to be a bit more open, 'Lieutenant' Singh got a few more hesitant welcomes from Scotty, Sulu and Chekov. Uhura still looked like she wanted him to die on the spot and Spock regarded him with a fire in his eyes that excited the brutal warrior side inside him. Oh this would be more fun than anticipated after all. After most of them had spoken out their awkward welcomes, he found himself unwilling to listen to anymore fake politeness. At least the doctor had been genuine in his willingness to give him sort of a second chance if he proved his worth to the crew.  
  
"Excuse me, but I still need to get my belongings into my new quarters and leave a few messages of farewell to my people."  
  
With a polite bow he ended the welcome talk and moved to the 'guest' quarters he had been living in until now.


	2. Boarding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~Khan arrives on the Enterprise, this time not as a prisoner. He realizes that he will need to get used to a lot of things.~

Moving his sparse belongings into his new quarters was easy enough. Most of time spent before taking a shuttle to board ship was spent writing letters to all his fellow crew. His real crew as he referred to them in his mind. Nothing dangerous as most people would assume. Khan knew when making a move was unwise. Besides, he did not wish to endanger the others by angering the Starfleet HQ.  
  
When he arrived on the bridge for his first duty, in the blue uniform of a science officer as that was the department he was current employed in, everybody turned and scrutinized him for a moment. A few people seemed surprised that he was now wearing his hair long, but they obviously had not done their research on him and what background he came from.   
  
Assuming his new post next to Mr. Spock, he checked his station and did the standard readings. During his work for Admiral Marcus he had learned all about Starfleet technology so luckily he knew how to handle all important consoles, tools and weapons. Naturally there occasionally were small gaps that were filled in by Mr. Spock.  
  
That was one thing he did appreciate about the Vulcan. He could feel the other man's hate, even if he was burying it deep inside for the sake of duty. And yet he performed so nicely and would not allow himself to show even the slightest hint of emotion. Now that he had witnessed the alien fight, he knew that it was only bottling them up until they exploded into a powerful rage. Savage and brutal. So very unlike the philosophy those Vulcans liked to call upon.  
  
His musings over his fellow alien crewmember were interrupted by Kirk sharply asking for the readings. "Hull status and electrical output in the system, Lieutenant Singh." Oh that was how it was going to be then? Kirk would be all testy towards him until he proved that he was indeed willing to 'change'.  
  
"Hull at 100%. Electrical output at normal parameters... Captain." He allowed himself to put a sultry tone in addressing the other and smirked to himself at the confused reaction he got from Kirk and the disapproving look from Spock. That man was so easy to distract, it was rather amazing how he could lead a 400+ people crew like that. But then again the Captain did seem to concentrate when it was needed.  
  
Their departure was as boring as the first three earth-days traveling away from Earth after they had been sent on their mission. Aside from being required for a medical check-up which put him at the mercy of the honest straightforward Dr. McCoy. One of the few people here Khan sort of enjoyed spending time with. His refreshing refusal to talk around the bush was quite lovely.  
  
"As expected, legs like a race horse. Jim would pale if I put him against your test score. Maybe I could convince him to go on that proper diet if he had some motivation." Physical tests were boring but he did indulge the good doctor as he did not wish to anger the one person he sort of got along with. Allies were an important thing to have in such a large crew. Especially when the rest still was very much suspicious of him.  
  
"Damn. The rest of the crew could only hope to be that well-off. Your stats are blowing me away, sonny. On one hand it's nice to see a patient this well, on the other hand this leaves me with no work." McCoy proceeded to pour himself a glass of Brandy after that analysis.  
  
So the augment smirked and put his shirt back on, sorting himself out and preening shortly. "If you desire work, I am willing to participate in further tests once my shift has ended, doctor. I doubt your scientific curiosity about my 'condition' is quenched yet." That got him a curious look from McCoy and a 'cheers'.   
  
~~~~~  
  
Later they found with a small Andorian freighter which had been incapacitated by criminals and sending out a help signal. Apparently the criminals were still on board too. Likely their ship had ceased to function after the boarding maneuver as it was ridiculously small. "There could not have been more than four or five people on that vessel. It is tiny."  
  
"A logical analysis Lieutenant Singh. I must agree. Nevertheless we should be careful and assign a boarding party of at least six crewmembers to be sure." The Vulcan was smart. That would give them the advantage of being able to spread out into teams without loosing too much fighting capabilities when one had to deal with being so frail and inferior as the rest of this crew was.  
  
"Unless the Captain wishes me to accompany the board party. Then two should be more than enough." This comment got him a sharp side-eyed from the Vulcan. And their Captain was so blissfully obvious to everything.  
  
"You can go with the party, Khan. But I will still send at least four just in case. Spock, you're in, too."  
  
Ahhh.... They wanted to make sure he 'behaved'. How obvious they were in their distrust. But well, he could deal with that. It was what he would do all the same if he were in their position. Trust nobody you wouldn't let put a knife against your throat. That was one of his philosophies.  
  
~~~~~  
  
In the transporter room, he was given a phaser and pointedly gave an irked stare to this tiny, pathetic thing that was allowed to call itself a weapon. This was the tickler that had needed several shots to not even be able to knock him out. "Can't I have a rifle?" He looked over at Spock, not expecting any accommodations, but who did not ask, could not receive.  
  
"Rifles are only given out in code red situations, Lieutenant Singh."  
  
"Understood, Sir."  
  
And with that he would have to deal. Unless he was allowed to use self-build weapons. Perhaps he could send a request to Starfleet Headquarters and build one from scraps.  
  
But back to the situation at hand. When they beamed aboard the freighter, his nose was immediately met with the smell of burning flesh. Not very strong, even for him but noticeable. He inhaled it deeply and licked his lips. "Injured or dead onboard, Sir." He told Mr. Spock who raised an eyebrow but did trust his superior sense of smell. The Vulcan may hear better than him, but Khan had a nose that could detect even the faintest trace of anything.  
  
Suddenly both Khan and Spock could hear rushed footsteps behind them. An ambush. They had likely send a fake help signal. Turning around, he used the duranium bracelet on his right arm to knock out one of the ambushing space pirates and left the other one to Spock, watching on just in case.  
  
Spock easily subdued the attacker as he was not armed well and only wearing crude armor. "Judging by how prepared they were, they must have used this technique on several ships by now. We should find the source of the signal and turn it off. Mr. Singh, you will follow me to the source. Mr. Williams, Miss Hernandez, you will patrol the rest of the ship for more of them. Stay together and alert."  
  
Following the Vulcan was easy for him. even in the dark of this badly lit freighter. His eyes adjusted to the dark as well as they did to extreme light. "Mr. Spock there are three more of them north of us. One of them is either pregnant or in some other sort of hormonal cycle. I believe they were settling in this freighter until they found another vessel."  
  
And indeed. Soon they found three women. Two elderly and one very much pregnant.  
  
"Your sense of smell is quite fascinating. It would be best to keep the Captain updated or he will get impatient and come over himself." While Spock gave his report, Khan carefully kneeled down close to the women and scrutinized them. A bit under-fed but otherwise well. They were cowering in fear and he knew that expression in their eyes.   
  
Fear. Resignation. Suffering.  
  
"Those women are slaves. We should bring them to a Federation Starbase to find out where they were from originally."


	3. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~Khan learns more of the ways of Human from the 23rd century and takes interest in the pregnant slave women they saved.~

Naturally they brought the women on the sickbay first and the men once all of them were found. Khan was ordered to help McCoy herd them around the sickbay to the various exam stations and to give them a face they recognized as a psychological factor to settle down a bit. Well, and also because Bones requested somebody who would not "Get on his nerves". And since there were currently neither electrical nor hull damages to be kept watch over, Lieutenant Singh was allowed to leave his post for this small special assignment.  
  
"This would be a lot easier if their language would be picked up by the universal translator. I don't get why it wouldn't work... Isn't this thing supposed to translate every Alien language?" McCoy was trying to make hand signs to explain to the scared pregnant woman that he was going to give her some vitamin supplements. Not easy since he was not exactly the most sociable man to be known.  
  
"May I try my luck, Doctor?" While obviously Khan neither could speak their language which seemed to be based on whines and grunts rather than vocals and consonants, he was a born leader and giving orders was his nature. He took one of the syringes and injected it into his own arm, showing it to the woman and smiling.  
  
That seemed to subvert her worries somewhat as a captor would likely not inject poison into himself. She looked over to McCoy and held still when he tried to inject the dose of supplements again. "... I should have thought of that. Clever. If you can convince the two old hags too I'm gonna be mighty impressed." As it turned out they had already been convinced by the fact that the pregnant one had allowed the injection to happen and offered their arms, if hesitantly.   
  
"Thank god! I was about to tell Jim to get down here and try himself." Just the thought made the augment twitch slightly. While he did respect the Captain's leadership qualities, he did not think much of his fine motor skills. And those syringes happened to hurt if used incorrectly. That would likely not help establish positive relations with their passengers. When he heard the pregnant woman address him with a whistling sound, he tipped his head slightly and made a decision.  
  
"Sickbay to Captain."  
  
"Bone- .. Oh. Lieutenant Singh."  
  
"Indeed, Captain. I have a request if you would hear it out. I may be able to communicate with the captives given some time. Naturally I believe Lieutenant Uhura could do so as well with her knowledge of linguistics, but she is direly needed at the comm station."  
  
"... Alright. You have to report in every six earth hours for the required hull and electronics check though or Spock will haunt both of us."  
  
"Naturally, Sir. I would not like to be haunted by Commander Spock if preferable."  
  
~~~~~  
  
After a while, he indeed managed to find the system in their noise. It was not picked up by the translator because it also used some sound waves that would simply not be picked up by a normal set of ears. To be honest Uhura would not be able to hear them, but flattery was an effective tool to get what he wanted. And he was carefully conversing with the woman and learning her alphabet. She luckily was quite smart and seemed to appreciate his effort greatly.  
  
After a combined ten hours, he was able to ask her more advanced questions and learned words every moment he spent with her. naturally Spock interrupted them to ask for a report of his studies. That Vulcan was more rigid about duty than a computer. And he'd likely take that as a compliment as well.  
  
So he sat down at the desk, allowing the woman to wear one of his casual robes to her amusement as he wrote his report.  
  
"Report regarding Language Study  
Passenger of unknown race, humanoid  
Feminine, pregnant  
Age 300 moons of their home planet. Exact time yet unknown.  
  
Written by Lieutenant Khan N. Singh  
  
The language of these passengers contains of both  
sounds that go up to ultrasound height and even down to infrasonic waves  
and hand gestures and head motions to certain expressions. It is quite complex  
from which I deduce that they had to develop it in order to survive under certain  
conditions. As almost any humanoid race seems to rely on vocals and consonants,  
something must have triggered this specific development.  
  
I have managed to gain an extensive knowledge of their  
'vocabulary' and will feed it into the cultural database later.  
  
Their race seems to travel in small spread-out groups. They often travel along with Space Pirates  
in service for their fighting power or even their fertility as their women seem to  
be compatible with a multitude of species according to their experience.  
  
Apparently this is the first time any of them ended up this far in Federation space though.  
Their origin planet seems to be situated outside the territories known to us.  
She did mention Klingons so that is likely the direction their planet is located in.  
  
Further study required.  
  
End of Report."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Naturally Mr. Spock did not trust his report and used the vocabulary submitted to carefully control the information he had written down by questioning the woman. After getting the same results he was forced to accept Khan's study as truthful. Now that they could communicate with the passengers, it was a lot less troublesome to take care of them. It did also mean that Khan got to spent more time in the sickbay with McCoy and away from Spock's seething glare of mistrust. Vulcans seemed to hold grudges quite for a long time. Unless that came from his human side.  
  
"So tell me something, Khan, how are you settling in? I mean obviously this is gonna be awkward for quite a while with Spock glaring at you like a bull at a red flag." Bones sat back in his favorite medbay chair at his desk and started filling in some forms about the passengers he had examined after Khan had told them that is was for their well-being.  
  
"What do you think, doctor? I am a tyrant of past time forced into the role of a lamb. There is no denying that. But I can adjust to any situation. So I will simply deal with it, for the sake of my people. As I would rather not see them frozen again. At least like this they can experience freedom of sorts and see the depths of space. That has it's own charm, doesn't it?" He walked up to a display with old medical tools and smirked, recognizing their uses. To have been asleep so long... It still felt strange to suddenly be in a world that was not his own anymore and be forced into rules not made by him. His rebellious side wished to cause havoc but he knew better than to allow himself such acts.  
  
"At least you're honest. I always hated the flowery sort who hide behind fake promises. Tell me, you were physically altered weren't you? Images showing you in past times look quite different..."  
  
Khan allowed himself a deep breath at this very sore topic. "Yes. Marcus had me cosmetically altered against my will while I was still in a coma, so I would fit the fake identity he had picked out for me. His underlings took the melanin from my skin and eyes. They even went so far as to alter my face. The damage could probably be undone with several heavy procedures, but I decided to carry this mark. No matter how painful on my spirit. It shall remind me to what extend I will go to protect those dear to me. A symbol of pyar. The virtue of love."  
  
The doctor nodded and tipped his electric pen on his fingers for a moment.  
  
"So you really are a Sikh? Interesting. Virtue here and there, Mr. Singh. If you suffer too much I want you to tell me and I'm sure we can arrange at least some partial reconstruction. I believe your people are quite convinced of your love in any case."

**Author's Note:**

> Regarding Khan's item's of belief:
> 
> The Kara is a steel, bronze or iron (sarb loh) bracelet, worn by all initiated Sikhs. It is one of the five kakars, external articles of faith, that identify a Sikh as dedicated to their religious order visibly.
> 
> So is the Kirpan, a ceremonial sword or dagger.


End file.
